Upgrade
by SteelDolls
Summary: Master x Kaito. Kaito's singing won't become perfect on its own. Master provides extra, 'special practice sessions' for the Vocaloid after hours. Warning: contains NCS, yaoi, lemon, abuse, emotional trauma, violence, blood/gore. Story idea by Vy39 :) Written by SteelDollS
1. Chapter 1

"No, no, no, Kaito," Master interrupted, sighing impatiently, shaking his head. "You're still not hitting that note properly!"

Kaito stopped singing. He grabbed the microphone tighter, his expression tightening in anxiety. "I'm sorry, Master, I'm sorry. Please, just let me try again," he begged.

Master got up from his stool and shook his head again. "No, Kaito. You only seem to learn these things one way. This is why you have to have these extra practice sessions. Without me, you'd still be a failure." Master unbuckled his belt and put it down on the stool carefully.

"Please, Master, no! I'll- just let me try again, I'll get it right this time. Please, I promise!" Kaito's voice squeaked and his body trembled. He knew what was coming next.

Master grabbed Kaito's hips and pulled them backwards at an awkward angle. Kaito squeezed his eyes shut and a look of despair and torment flooded his face. The sound of Kaito's zipper opening met his ears and Kaito shook as Master pulled his pants and underwear down, exposing Kaito's bottom to the cool air of the recording studio.

Master rubbed against Kaito's small, puckered opening with his thumb, pressing inside somewhat forcefully. Kaito's hips shook and the Vocaloid male bit his lips, trying to keep the tears out of his eyes.

"Please, Master, I can do it. Don't do this to me, please," Kaito begged one more time, his voice choking in his throat, unable to stop himself from trying to dissuade the human from the course of action he had been committing every night in their 'extra practice sessions' recently.

Maste just pushed his thumb in deeper, moving it around to loosen up the tense muscle of Kaito's backside. Kaito flinched and trembled.

"You know, Kaito," Master said conversationally as he prepared the blue-haired Vocaloid male somewhat ungently, "Technology has a huge turnover rate. What I mean to say is, technology is always changing. Even a great piece of software has only a limited lifespan. We're lucky if a piece of technology even stays around, stays alive, for 20 years!"

"Nngh," Kaito cried out despite himself in soft misery as Master twisted his thumb, then withdrew the digit and replaced it with two unforgiving fingers, which he scissored inside of Kaito's anus.

"If you look at it that way... Kaito, you're already 8 years old, aren't you? By technology's standards, that means your lifespan is already almost half over... you have maybe 10, 12 years left of your life... and that's if you're lucky. Your life will be over much sooner if you don't continue to produce good results. ...If you don't get continual upgrades, Kaito. If you don't perform your best.

"That's why you need me, Kaito. You /need/ me to make you perform your best. And if you don't let me 'help' you, Kaito, there's no point in my giving you any further upgrades, is there? A worthless Vocaloid who doesn't produce good results will get uninstalled. Isn't that right, Kaito?"

Master's smooth, light voice sounded both reasonable and utterly malicious in Kaito's ear, and the Vocaloid male choked back another sob as Master removed his fingers, unzipped his pants, and positioned his hard-on at Kaito's back entrance.

"Please, Master, no!" Kaito sobbed as he felt his entrance opening painfully, as Master pushed inside.

"You should be thanking me, Kaito, not telling me no. I do this for you, you know," Master scolded lightly, pushing his hips forward, deeper into Kaito's tightness and heat. "Now. Sing the song again. From the top."

Crying, Kaito started to sing again in his now trembling voice, gripping the microphone stand as Master began rocking his body back and forth. The pressure in Kaito's backside was terrible, felt sickening, made Kaito feel dirty. Only a worthless Vocaloid would be used like this.

When the part of the song that Kaito was having trouble with came up, Master grabbed Kaito's hair and scowled, yanking back and upwards and exposing Kaito's throat as Kaito cried out into the microphone.

"No! No, Kaito, that's still wrong. Do it again!" Master demanded. Tears dripped down Kaito's face as Master thrust inside hard to enounciate his point. The bluenette yelped and started to sing again, beginning a few beats previous.

"No, still wrong! Again!" Kaito backed up in the song again and started to sing once more.

This time, when Kaito sang the note wrong, Master pushed forward forcefully at the same time as the note, elicting a shriek that ruined the note. "No. Again!"

"Again!" Another attempt at singing. Another violent push forward. "Again!"

"Again!" Master demanded, over and over and over, pushing harder, faster, rocking Kaito's body hard as the tortured Vocaloid continued to sing, to sing and sing and sing, trying to get the note right, trying please Master, to make the increasingly violent rape stop.

This time, the note was perfect, it rang out clear like a bell, and Master grunted with his exertion. "Good, Kaito, again, sing again. You have to get it perfect! Again, Kaito! More!"

Kaito kept singing, tears running down his face unstopped as Master's pace became frantic, brutally slamming into and out of the male Vocaloid as Kaito cried and sang.

"Good, that's good, that's so good, Kaito, you're getting it. Just like that!" Master cried out, feeling his orgasm rising. Master grabbed Kaito's hips hard, leaving bruises as he pulled the Vocaloid male closer, pushing in as deeply as he could go and yelling out his pleasure as he came in hot, white bursts into Kaito's stretched rectum.

Kaito held onto the microphone stand and dropped his head in shameful defeat, crying, as he felt Master's slimy, dripping, softening cock slowly pull out of his abused body.

"That's good, Kaito," Master panted, smiling, as he cleaned himself off on Kaito's coat, and tucked his manhood back into his pants, rezipping them, and reaching for his belt. "You did a good job on that song, now, thanks to my help. When you sing it tomorrow, I think you will be much improved."

Master paused, and his smile faltered a little, turning into a frown as Kaito just kept crying softly and holding the microphone stand, his legs shaking.

"Now, Kaito, what do you say to Master? After I helped you? ...Or don't you /want/ an upgrade, Kaito?" The understated threat made Kaito's blue eyes widen in fear.

"T-thank you, Master," Kaito's tear-wracked voice came out quietly, and Master nodded in satisfaction, his eyes softening from their hardness.

"You're welcome, Kaito," Master said, smiling again. "Now clean up, and go to bed. Our special practice session is done for the night."

Kaito nodded, face wet, his head still bowed, as Master turned and left the recording studio. The door closed with a soft sound.

Kaito buried his face in his hands and wept helplessly.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning was sunny and the dining room was loud with friendly chatter as the Vocaloids began their breakfast. Len tossed Rin an orange, and she grinned cutely as she caught it, biting the fruit to start being able to peel it.

Kaito limped slightly as he joined the crowd. Miku glanced over and smiled a good morning.

"Why're you limping, nii-chan?" The small blonde female Vocaloid asked as she finished shedding her orange of its shell, and popped a slice into her mouth with a happy expression.

"Ah... I, um, tripped, a... haha," Kaito lied, smiling his own cute smile back at the younger girl. He made sure to keep the easy smile firmly in place as he sat down and pulled a box of cereal and a bowl towards himself.

"Ohh, I see! You're so clumsy! You're always tripping on things. You need to be more careful, nii-chan," Rin scolded in her well-meaning but high pitched, little girl voice, then focused her attention back on the orange voraciously, her eyes almost crossing in concentration as she devoured the fruit energetically.

"Heh heh heh," Kaito laughed, a little nervously. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Seriously, can't you pay attention to anything?" Len grumbled from his own seat at the table, a little disgruntled about Kaito receiving so much attention from his twin. Not only did the bluenette get extra, special lessons with Master, which were catapulting his popularity rankings, but now he was monopolizing the shorter Kagamine's focus first thing in the morning.

Kaito's mask of a smile dropped for a brief moment, but he laughed lightly again, self-recriminatingly, and firmly fixed his smile back in place. "I guess you're right, Len. It's my fault for not doing well enough."

Len's eyes slid away, and he frowned as if displeased. "That's not exactly what I was saying..."

"Morning, everybody!" Master's voice cheerfully rang out as he entered the room. Kaito dropped his spoon with a clatter, tensing instantly in his chair, and struggling to keep his smile on his now-wide-eyed face. He didn't want anyone to notice that there was something wrong.

It was Kaito's fault, after all, for the way Master had been treating him lately. If only he were a better Vocaloid, if he wasn't a fail, Master wouldn't hurt him like he did. Master never gave any of the other Vocaloids the "special" late night lessons. Because only Kaito was the bad one. If anyone found out about what Master actually did, they would be absolutely disgusted with Kaito, and he couldn't bear that. He'd rather die than admit what Master did to him.

Lowering his wide blue eyes to the table, Kaito hunched up his shoulders unconsciously as Master strode over to him, grinning down at him.

"Are you ready for today's recording session, Kaito?" A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, and the bluenette jumped, his heart racing, as his haunted eyes looked back up at Master, visibly nervous. He nodded quietly.

"Good, good. Miku, Meiko, you'll also be singing this morning. I hope you've been practicing well! I expect good results from all of you," Master sat down next to the nervous bluenette and poured himself a bowl of cereal.

Kaito anxiously and slowly raised his own cereal-laden spoon to his mouth, chewing and swallowing, the food tasting like ash in his mouth. His stomach twisted. It was hard to swallow, feeling like there was a lump in his throat. He could smell Master's clean scent from his proximity. The other man was in a good humor.

"Alright, is everyone finished?" Master asked as spoons clanked in empty cereal bowls. A chorus of agreement met his question and he stood up. "Okay, then. Let's record some music, alright?"

Miku, Meiko, and Kaito followed Master as he led them to the recording studio. Luka, Len, and Rin trailed behind them. Although they weren't singing, they wanted to listen, and see how the others did. Sometimes Master would give good feedback or suggestions on how to make their singing even better.

"Okay, Miku, you're up first," Master said cheerfully, adjusting the mike for the shorter teal-haired female Vocaloid. She flashed a happy expression back at her beloved Master and nodded, stepping up and rhythmically nodding her head slightly as the background music began to play.

After Miku, Master turned to Kaito. "That was good, Miku, I can tell you've been working hard! Now, Kaito, let's hear your song."

The blue-haired Vocaloid male swallowed and trepidly approached the microphone stand, memories of last night swirling through his mind. He took a deep, calming breath as the music began playing, opened his mouth, and sang.

Len watched, an unchanging expression on his face, as the notes of the song rang out pure and clear. There were some really hard parts to Kaito's song this time, yet the bluenette hit them all effortlessly, as if it were made for his voice. The blonde male couldn't help a tendril of jealousy raising in him, that it was so easy for Kaito. He wondered if all the late-night extra lessons with Master were the reason the bluenette had improved so much in such a short time. He wondered what kind of special suggestions Master gave the older Vocaloid, when all the rest of them were already tucked into their beds.

"That was good, really, really good, Kaito!" Master enthused when the last notes of the song died away, grinning proudly at his Vocaloid. "Our extra lessons are definitely paying off for you. As a treat, I have a new song for you; we'll practice on it tonight."

Kaito's expression was horrified as he pulled back away from Master, his eyes widening, frightened. "B-but... we j-just had a session... last night!" The bluenette tremblingly protested. His backside still hurt, badly, even though he had gotten off pretty easily, in comparison to some of their previous 'sessions.' "P-please, Master, can't I r-rest tonight?"

Master shook his head emphatically 'no.' "Kaito, we talked about this. You need to focus all of your energy on keeping up your popularity, don't you? You do want an upgrade, right? That's not going to happen if you shirk your work."

Kaito's eyes filled with tears as he cast his expression downwards, his shoulders shaking in shame and the memory of pain. His lips trembled as he stood, feeling completely alone, in the middle of the room. Everyone was watching him. He had to reply. If he didn't everyone would know. He struggled to put the smile back on his face and look bravely back up at Master.

"Y-yes, Master," Kaito smiled, blinking hard to try to make the unwanted moisture in his eyes disappear. Wanting to look normal for everyone.

"He's so lucky," Luka whispered quietly to Rin. "He doesn't even appreciate what Master's doing for him! I'm sure those extra lessons aren't easy to stay up late for. Kaito should be more grateful to Master for looking out for him."

The bluenette heard the whispers easily, and clenched his fists, struggling against new tears that threatened to break free as he lowered his eyes once more. Master smiled, pleased, and patted Kaito's head approvingly.

"Good. That's what I want to hear. We'll practice at our usual time, then, Kaito. Meiko? You're up next!" Master directed, and moved away from the Vocaloid male, his fingers lingering for a moment in the soft blue hair before pulling away.

Kaito shivered and moved away from the microphone stand. Len watched him carefully, thoughtfully, for a moment, hatching a plan, as Meiko took her place and opened her own mouth to sing.

Tonight, Kaito and Master would have another of their practice sessions. And Len was going to be there, to take advantage of all the advice Master had to give. After all, Kaito wasn't the only one who wanted to improve his singing. And Len deserved to do the best he could for Master, too.

A small smile graced the blonde Vocaloid's lips as he returned his attention to Meiko's song, satisfied with his secret plan. If things went as he intended, Kaito wouldn't be the only one up for an upgrade, next time around.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaito stared down at his hands.

'Maybe if I take some of Master's pain medicine from the bathroom cabinet, it won't hurt as much,' the bluenette thought to himself. 'It already hurts so much... will human medicine even help me? I'm not really human, after all. But it might be worth a try. I wonder if Master will scold me if he finds out.'

It was too hard to lift his head. Kaito's shoulders were shaking slightly on their own accord. It was okay, because no one was around to see. No one to answer if anyone asked what was wrong. No one to admit his failings to. As long as no one ever, ever knew, he could put on his normal face in front of the others. He could still be Kaito. Not a fail who Master... did... those things to. No one could know.

Kaito wanted to cry.

He knew it hadn't always been like this. When Master had first brought him home, everything had been so new and bright and the future seemed full of endless possibilities. His voicebank was a marvel, Master had said. The human did so many things to bring out the best and brightest sound, despite the male Vocaloid's initial commercial failure to sell. Kaito could remember those things, and wanted to remember them fondly, but something in his code just twisted in anxiety now whenever he thought of his kind Master. Of his beloved Master's praise and smiles. Of Master's first time giving Kaito sweet, wonderful ice cream, celebrating one of Kaito's first successes. Those memories should be the ones he cherished most.

The bluenette wished that those times hadn't changed. That he had remained worthy of those kinder times, had remained himself: the good, hardworking Kaito that everyone expected to see. A more innocent, undamaged Kaito, who didn't cringe away from extra sessions with Master just so that he could stay existing. If he failed to produce results now, it wouldn't be a pat on his shoulder and a wry, encouraging smile from the human. It wouldn't be, "I know you can do it, Kaito."

It would be Master, and pain, and hurt, again and again... and the inability to escape, to do anything good or right, to be acceptable as a Vocaloid on his own merits... it would mean the end to his potential upgrade... the upgraded software would be the only thing that could maybe save him from becoming completely worthless. It would mean uninstallation.

It would be the end.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Being uninstalled. At least it wouldn't hurt anymore. But Kaito didn't want to end as a failure; didn't want his life to end on the note of being discarded like trash in such a pathetic, damaged way. Proof that everything he'd suffered and all the effort he'd put into his songs meant nothing. That in the end, he was just not good enough, despite everything. But as long as no one knew... as long as he could fake it well enough, so that no one ever found out... maybe, just maybe, someday, he'd be able to put this horrible time behind him.

But how could he do that when every time Master came into the room it was all he could do not to run away and hide somewhere, feeling sick to his stomach, hoping that the human wouldn't find him again? Wouldn't tell him, "Kaito, we'll do a special session tonight." Wouldn't hurt Kaito again? Again. Again. 'Keep singing, Kaito.' 'Again. More.'

'...Or you'll be uninstalled.'

"I need to think of something else," Kaito heard his own voice murmuring, and hated the gently nasal sound of it. If his voicebanks were just... _better_ than they were, Master wouldn't hurt him anymore. He'd be worthy of love if only he could be better. Be different. Be something else other than what he was. One hand tipped with blue-lacquered nails touched his pale throat and closed around it almost gently. If only he could change himself to be something more than he was. If crushing his voicebox or damaging it could change things... but it wouldn't. Kaito's hand dropped slowly, defeated before it even began. He tried to breathe slowly, to regain control of his feelings.

"I think there's still an ice cream in the freezer," he remembered to himself suddenly, trying to give himself a mental shake and disassociate himself with the unfixable fears he would have to face later. Trying as best as he could to firmly ignore it, as if if he didn't think, the past and the future wouldn't exist, Kaito rose tenderly, insides still hurting despite deciding not to think about it any more than he had to. The shaking was still there a little, but he squared his slim shoulders, took another breath, and plastered a small, smiling expression on his face. "What flavor was it again? Vanilla?"

Master used to buy ice cream often. It'd been a while since the last time. But Kaito always tried to save the last one as long as possible, for when he felt really overwhelmed. The pleasure of the moment when the sweet confection melted on his tongue and was swallowed down his throat was the greatest and most wonderful distraction, and made Kaito feel like himself again, even if just for a little while.

Opening the door, he moved quickly down the hall to the kitchen. Kaito's injured heart felt a little lighter as he neared it, knowing there'd be something good waiting. He needed this distraction. He was glad he'd saved it. As he rounded the corner and his blue eyes took in the vision of his younger "brother" Vocaloid, leaning with blonde hair shimmering like it was made from some sort of valuable metal, blue eyes glancing up, and a spoonful of frozen dessert disappearing into his soft pink mouth, his false smile disappeared.

"Hey, Kaito," Len greeted, in a sort of disinterested voice, putting the spoon down and stretching his arms out way behind his head, making a satisfied sound. Kaito stared.

"That... was that my ice cream?" The bluenette asked in a normal tone, despite the numb feeling suddenly suffusing his entire body.

"Probably," Len responded, shrugging, glancing back over at Kaito and tilting his head. "Why? What's up?"

"...It was my last aisu," Kaito replied, his tongue feeling stupid and thick. His chest felt tight and it felt hard to breathe suddenly, but Kaito could tell by the feeling of his tensed muscles that his countenance and facial expressions were successfully remaining exactly the same. The small smile was even back in place even though he didn't remember putting it there again. That was something, at least. Good job, Kaito. Fake your way through this. It'll be okay. It'll be okay. Just breathe.

"Oh. Sorry?" Len asked, frowning a little in consternation, as if it was a question. "Hey, what's the big deal? Just ask Master to buy you some more. Don't make a big deal out of it. What are you, that spoiled? I mean, come on, Kaito. It's not that important; it's just ice cream. You seem kind of dumb when you make a big deal out of something that's not important. It's not like Master doesn't give you ice cream enough."

"Yeah," Kaito heard himself saying, felt his mouth smiling the little smile, saw his eyes move away from the too-bright, almost blonde hair that attracted his attention, "I guess I'm just a dumb Kaito, huh? I'll just ask Master to buy some more, like you said. I'm always making mistakes, haha... it's just... ice cream, after all. It's not really that important. Sorry, Len. It's okay."

"Are you okay?" Len was staring directly at him, frowning.

"What?" Kaito asked, suddenly feeling jolted back into reality. His face had gone lax. His wide blue eyes were staring back at Len. Did Len know? Did he suspect? Kaito was a fail at faking, now, too? He'd be exposed, and deactivated. Even being deactivated would be better than everyone knowing... than Len knowing! The tightness in his chest got worse and the bluenette felt himself shaking, scared out of his wits. Len would know. He would judge Kaito and Kaito would never be able to fake being okay again. He couldn't. He couldn't.

"You've never let me off stealing your stuff this easy before... are you really sick?" Len stood up, concerned now, and moved closer. He touched a cool palm against Kaito's forehead, brushing soft blue bangs out of the way slightly as he did so. Kaito jerked, then froze completely still, his pupils huge as he stared at the blonde, younger Vocaloid male. Kaito's breath didn't seem to want to function, his chest and lungs burned, and it was scary, scary, so scary, but Len's touch was soft. It was gentle. It was kind. It was the touch of a brother who was worried about him.

"Well, you don't seem to be overheating. Are you functioning okay everywhere else? Is this why you tried to turn down Master's special practice?" Len asked, and dropped his hand. Kaito couldn't move, couldn't speak, he just stared at Len, silently begging him for something, although he didn't know what it was he wanted, himself. Len sighed and scratched his head. "Well, I guess I can't be too mad about you getting the extra help. As much as I'd like to improve, too, you need to take care of yourself first. Okay, onii-san? And I'm sorry about taking your ice. Maybe later, if you feel like it, could you share some tips to improve my singing, too?"

Len smiled and patted Kaito once on the shoulder as he turned away, dropping his dirty spoon into the sink and the empty carton of ice cream into the garbage bin. He glanced behind with crystal clear blue eyes, curious, at Kaito, as he left the room.

Kaito stood stock still for a very long time until his breathing started to function again. He started to turn himself, still feeling a bit numb, to go back to his room until Master called for him, when he realized his face was wet.


	4. Chapter 4

'I'm a faker,' Kaito thought to himself as he quietly followed Master to the recording studio. 'I don't deserve anything. Not my friends. Not my upgrade. It's my fault Master treats me like this now. I made Master be like this, somehow. Even though I've begged him to stop, he won't, because of my bad performances. That's the truth, isn't it? Because I'm no good. Not like the others...

'I pretend like I'm worth as much as they are. But I'm not. I'm a faker. I'm not a good singer like Meiko, or Len, or Miku. I deserve this. I'm dirty and no good. What would the others think if they found out? No... better not think about it. As long as no one knows, I can... I can pretend I'm who they think I am. As long as I can pretend, maybe some part of me won't be dirty like this.'

Master opened the door and waited, to narrowly let Kaito go past and enter the room. It was lit brightly, cheery. Kaito remembered that not long ago, he looked forward to coming to this room to practice and record his songs. Now he didn't even want to sing, if it meant coming in here. To go through the doorway, Kaito had to brush against Master. The human's body was solid and immovable. It had the same pleasant scent it always did. Kaito mentally cringed from it.

The bluenette knew that even if he asked, Master wouldn't let him out of this session.

Or if he did, it would be because he'd given up on Kaito, and Kaito was finished.

The stressed Vocaloid male tried to ignore the minor, involuntary shivering his body was doing against his will as he walked with wooden legs up to the microphone stand, awaiting Master's instruction. The human had a handful of sheets of music in one hand and a bottle of water in the other hand. Kaito hadn't been allowed to look at the new song yet. He hoped it would be easy, then felt pathetic and useless as he realized he cared more about getting through the session as quickly as possible than he did about doing a good job that others could be proud of. Kaito clenched his hands together around the microphone for a moment and tried to breathe calmly. Master would know if he wasn't trying his hardest. Right? He had to do well, or he would never be worth anything again.

Putting the bottle of water down on the nearby table, Master's feet and legs were just visible from underneath the tablecloth covering the useful piece of furniture. Underneath it, crystalline, sky blue eyes watched in an excited nervousness that came with spying on people, unknown. The area under the table was small and tight, but Len didn't need a lot of room. He hugged his knees and tried not to lean forward too much, in worry of being caught and scolded by Master. He couldn't see much with the long tablecloth in the way, but Master and Kaito couldn't see him, either.

Len's plan from earlier in the day was turning out perfectly so far. The younger blonde male supressed the urge to quietly laugh nervously and excitedly to himself. He didn't need to see, in order to be able to overhear Master's secret advice. Starting now, he'd begin doing as well as Kaito did, and everyone would be surprised and wowed by him, too! Not just Kaito, and Kaito's melody. Soon it'd be Len's melody also. He couldn't wait to see his sibling Vocaloids be really impressed with his future, sudden, inexplicable progress. Len grinned to himself and waited impatiently, quiet but excited.

"Are you ready to start singing a new song, Kaito? I think this one will do really well, if you can succeed. Maybe even enough for me to consider an upgrade for you sometime in the future. You still want to receive an upgrade, right? Kaito?" Master's disembodied voice was smooth and encouraging, as always, but Len frowned as he saw Master's feet stopping practically on top of Kaito's feet. The blue-and-yellow sneakers Kaito wore scuffed backwards briefly as if in some sort of knee-jerk alarm, then stood stock still. It was a very unnatural way to stand. Maybe Kaito was still feeling sick after all. But did Vocaloids get sick, if their system functions were being taken care of properly? Len had told Kaito to take care of himself. Didn't Kaito listen to him?

A soft sound of something soft touching something soft, and Master's voice was quieter as it kept talking.

"Do you think you can do it without my extra sessions with you, Kaito? IF you think so, I'll reconsider this session. I'll let you have a rest. But only if you prove to me you don't need these sessions. You decide; do you need my help, Kaito? Ask me." More sounds of softness touching softness, and cloth fabric rustling slightly.

A brief pause and Kaito's disembodied voice came back, but it wasn't his normal, friendly voice. It was shaking, fearful.

"I... I can, please... Master, I can! I... I d-don't need the extra sessions. I'll... prove it?"

Master's feet stepped away from Kaito, and Len heard competing sounds of rustling paper being moved, and Kaito sighing in what could only be interpreted as relief. Len frowned to himself deeper.

'You'd think he's completely ungrateful! What's going on here?' The small blonde male strained his ears and stared hard at the two pairs of feet he could see from under the tablecloth, waiting to see what happened next. 'If I had the chance for extra sessions with Master, I'd be nothing but grateful. Is he really this entitled? But 'ungrateful' doesn't really seem like Kaito-nii, either... this is really weird.'

"T-thank you... Master!" Kaito replied, almost sounding tearful. "I... I can do it, I promise I can, I promise. I can be better. I can prove it to you. Let me try, please."

"We'll just go ahead and see, Kaito. If you can't, I guess I'll have to keep helping you. Sigh... It's the only possible way to make you be worth an upgrade, after all. You don't want to stay a fail, do you? You don't want to be uninstalled... which may happen, if you continuously fail to deliver the proper level of decent music, right?"

"N-no, I... I won't, Master. I promise," Kaito's voice responded, and his feet shuffled back, inching away as Master's feet came close again. There was another soft sound, like something being touched, and the sound of Kaito's breath stopped for a moment, then resumed, sounding anxious, as Master's feet retreated once again.

"Okay, Kaito. I'm ready. Show me what you can do without my help," The sound of buttons being pressed, and Kaito's feet moved forwards, as if to protest the instant demand, as the familiar sound of a bgm track being loaded began to whir and click on.

'Isn't Master going to let him at least look the music over first?' Len wondered to himself, feeling more and more troubled. 'And what's this with Master saying Kaito's a fail? What IS this? Isn't that going too far? And Kaito just let it slide!'

Suddenly, a jarring and fast-beat music bgm began vibrating the recording studio. Kaito's feet jolted and he spun, ran a few steps back to the microphone, and desperately rustled through the pages of the sheet music. Kaito's beautiful vocals tripped over themselves right from the get-go, sounding more and more desperate with each bar, going faster and faster, tripping, higher and higher pitched, trying to keep up with what could only be thought of as a manic beat, and doing a bad job of it.

'This isn't normal music! This is insane!' Len was baffled and starting to feel a little scared. Something was happening here and he didn't understand it. Part of him wanted to come out from under the table and ask Kaito and Master what was happening here. Ask why Master was being like this? Ask why Kaito was just going along with it? It didn't make sense. 'Nobody in their right mind would think someone could sing this without WEEKS of practice! Kaito, stand up for yourself and tell Master it's too hard! Just ask for help! Why are you still trying to do this on your own? Just stop!'

And then Kaito's voice broke mid-note. Master's still feet turned slightly, and he stopped the music. The dead silence of the air hung for only an instant.

"No... no! NO!" Kaito shrieked, as if he was on the verge of losing his mind. "I can do it! I can DO IT! Master, no, no, NO! PLEASE!"

"I let you try on your own, Kaito," The human's voice was so quiet, at complete odds with the sudden hysterics of his male Vocaloid. "I give you every chance, but the fact is, you're just no good without me. You're a fail for a reason. You don't WANT to be uninstalled, do you? I can help you, Kaito. I'm the only one who can. You should be more grateful for my lessons."

"No, Master, no," Kaito was sobbing. His knees were shaking, and Len could see the vibrations down Kaito's slim pants legs as a result of it. Len clasped his hands over his mouth to keep from making a sound, his eyes were big, alarmed and confused. This wasn't normal. What was... what was this..? "Please, please... let me try again, Master... let me try again!"

"...Kaito... why do you resist my help? I feel like you never ask me for the things you need, anymore. For the things that are good for you, that are only meant to help you be better than you are. ...Is it because you're worried about getting too much special attention? Unlike the others... Are you worried about being singled out..? Maybe it's because we keep these sessions private, that you feel uncertain about my help.

But then again... if we had these sessions where the others could see, everyone would know... just know how MUCH help you need, just to barely keep up. But maybe those worries are just you being vain, Kaito? After all, _everyone_ could help you, if we did this during the day, publicly, where all your fellow Vocaloids could see. We could stop having these sessions be private, Kaito. But then, everyone would know the real you, after all. Maybe it'd be a relief?"

The bluenette in question was backing up slowly as Master's feet went closer to him. His back bumped into the microphone stand and it clattered to the floor with a loud bang and a squealing sound. Len could hear as Kaito started sobbing vocally.

The bottom hem of Kaito's white coat moved, and after a scuffling fabric sound, the bluenette's leather belt hit the floor with a dull thud. Len stared at it, his eyes going wider, his hands clasped even harder against his mouth. The blonde boy struggled to breathe, not to alert anyone he was there. He didn't know what to do. He was panicking. He shook where he crouched, completely at a loss as to what to do.

"No, Master, please, please, don't. I don't... no, please, don't!" Voice thick with tears and pain, Kaito whimpered, overwhelmed. "Don't, don't, I don't want to, I don't want anyone to...! Don't tell, don't tell!"

"It's okay, Kaito, calm down, it's okay," Master shushed Kaito, sounding quiet and kind, though he was standing too close, too close. "It's okay. As long as you let me help you do your best, no one has to know that you're useless as a Vocaloid. No one will know you should have been deactivated by now, if not for what I do for you, to cover up your failures. We'll work together, and my hard work with you and these extra sessions will make up for your lack of natural talent. As long as you have me to help you, you might even eventually make it to a good spot in the popularity polls. That's what you want, isn't it? To be worth something? To be worth anything. Kaito? Tell me, you agree, don't you. You're nothing? Without me, your loving Master."

Kaito sobbed and his legs flinched away, but he must have responded nonverbally, because Master moved slightly, and stood still as Kaito was turned, as if by his waist, back towards the fallen microphone. Len's heart was in his frightened throat as the bluenette knelt down, Kaito's face a mess of tears, and his soft blue bangs partially covering his despairing, not-quite-focused eyes as he slowly picked up the fallen mic, then rose back up, unnoticing of the scared, shaking blonde male secretly watching him from only a few feet away.

"That's good, Kaito. We'll take it from the top, and go a little at a time," Master practically purred in his tone, standing too close to Kaito once more, his feet touching Kaito's; the fronts of his legs touching the backs of Kaito's legs. Kaito's pant legs moved slightly, as if they'd become looser somehow.

Master whispered softly, softly, quietly, as if his mouth was right next to Kaito's ear, and said something that Len couldn't make out.

"P-please, Master, I don't want anyone to know," Kaito's voice whimpered, and his legs jerked slightly, as something pushed him forwards a little, and his voice raised in pitch in shock on the last syllable. Kaito made another sobbing sound, of pain this time, his legs shaking.

"I'll go through it with you slowly, we'll make sure you have it perfect. If not tonight... then tomorrow... and the next night... and the next... Kaito... until you satisfy me." Master said in a hushed, strained tone.

"It hurts, Master, please stop," Kaito cried out. "It hurts!"

"I'm helping you, Kaito. Shouldn't you ask me nicely to do more, instead of saying 'stop'? ...I'm starting to feel... unappreciated, Kaito," Master's voice took on a slightly harder edge, though his voice was still quiet. "If you think you can do it without me..."

The sound of a button clicking- a remote? And the insane background music started blaring again. Kaito screamed.

"Let's start again. From the top, Kaito!" The microphone clattered a little, then regained its balance as Kaito apparently grasped on to it for balance, sobbing loudly, as if his world was ending, over the music. "From the top, start again! You have to do it perfectly. You're no good, Kaito. You're worthless. You're no good unless it's with me, Kaito. Try again. Again. Again. Only I can make you worth anything."

Shaking legs...The rhythmic movement of Master's legs flexing, and Kaito's legs moving in the same rhythm. Kaito's sobbing in the same rhythm as the beat of those legs rocking back and forth, again, and again.

"No," Len said out loud, his whole body shaking in refusal to believe, but his frightened, soprano voice was drowned out by the continuing, tortured sounds of Kaito sobbing, and the background music banging hysterically on like some sort of demented techno-strobe-carnival ride, and Len clasped his hands over his ears, trying to wake up from the nightmare he was hearing going on, shutting his eyes closed as tightly as he could, and shaking, shaking, shaking his head back and forth as if he could wake up... as Kaito began to slowly try to sing.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'll have to wash my clothes again," Kaito's voice said in a soft, rough-edged voice an eternity later, when Len dared to lower his unsteady hands from where they had been tightly holding his ears.

The vibration of the insane music had stopped a while ago, but the blonde male had felt too scared to open his eyes to check whether Master or Kaito were still in the studio. His body was shaking, still scared and confused beyond what he could figure out how to respond, so he just stayed put, stayed still. Like a possum, as if, if he pretended he wasn't there, what Master had been doing to his brother Vocaloid wouldn't be real.

The sound of Kaito's movement was slow, as if his body was stiff. Then it stopped, and Len finally got up the courage to open his eyes. Immediately he shut them again and held back a whimper. There was blood on the floor. Not too much but... enough to see. Enough to notice.

Movement of Kaito's legs, and his pants seemed to be adjusted. The bluenette knelt as if his joints were old and rusted, his dirtied clothing blocking Len's view of the blood drippings. Kaito's body movements- what Len could see anyways- were mechanical and almost seemed practiced, as he cleaned up the mess, and stood up again very slowly, with a quiet whine of physical pain that he couldn't hold back. That sound made Len feel like he'd been punched in the stomach, and he slapped his hands over his ears again, shut his eyes, and tried to stop the urge to cry.

This was wrong. This was so wrong. It was a nightmare. Len couldn't wrap his head around it. This was Master, that was doing this? Hurting Kaito. The younger, blonde Vocaloid male couldn't believe it, even though he'd heard it with his own ears... seen it- part of it... with his own eyes. And the blood Kaito was cleaning up... Was this real? How could this be real? Was Master actually a monster? No. Just... no.

Len's eyes were shut and his ears were covered tightly as well, so he didn't hear the door to the studio opening and closing quietly when Kaito left, to know that he was alone finally. But through his closed eyelids, Len could tell when the bright, cheery lights that had illuminated the room were shut off. Len opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness.

Unclenching his tense, slim muscles enough to crawl out from under the table was painful. He wasn't sure how long he had been under it, but it felt like hours. Maybe it had been hours. Len whimpered to himself as he realized he wasn't sure whether he was going to crawl through the area that Kaito's blood had dripped on. He stood up unsteadily, wavering madly as he tried to get his balance in the utter darkness.

Feeling with his hands until he discovered the wall, Len found his way to the light switch next to the door, and hesitated to turn it on. He was afraid what he might find, and irrationally, was afraid that by turning on the switch, Kaito and Master would somehow be back in the room again. Except this time, Len would see everything that happened, and be unable to escape seeing it. Len's hands shook as they moved away from the light switch and found the doorknob, and turned it.

Dim light spilled down the hallway from somewhere, but the main hallway light was off. Kaito must have gone to bed. Len stood in place, not sure what to do, his body not wanting to respond to him, and his brain refusing to think.

'Its dark. Normally I'm in bed right now. I should be in bed right now,' Len thought to himself. 'I should be in bed right now, not in the recording studio room. That's right.'

Legs and arms moving stiffly, 'like Kaito's body had moved stiffly,' Len walked down the hallway, every inch of his skin on alarm for the smallest noise, the slightest startling movement, the smallest change in the light. Len felt like he was having some sort of bad trip, some sort of dream where space was being distorted, and the movement of his body came without sensation, as if his nerves were numb. Reaching the door to his and Rin's room, Len opened it quietly and stared inside before entering the room, as if expecting it to change into something terrifying. Something nightmarish.

Rin's breath came quietly from her individual bed. The dim light from their digital alarm clock was enough to illuminate just her outline in a shadowy manner, as Len's eyes adjusted to the dark. Rin mumbled something and turned over in her sleep, disheveling her covers and kicking one pajama'd leg out at a weird angle halfway off the bed. It was a normal sight, and Len's eyes glanced to his own bed. Going on auto-pilot in the dark, every little sound made his heart hammer as the blonde male changed into his own pajama set.

Len glanced over at Rin one more time, then slid underneath his own bedcovers in his own twin bed. The room was full of vague shadows. Len stared at the dark ceiling with unblinking eyes, clutching his familiar blanket.

"I gotta peeeee!" Rin suddenly said loudly in a slurred, high tone. There was a thumping sound of her falling on her face as she tried to get out of bed from a dead sleep, and Len's eyes moved over, wide, to watch her, but his head stayed stiff and still, as if he couldn't move his neck muscles to see. "URrrrghhh."

Stumbling into their shared bathroom with her palm slapping against the wall for balance, Len listened to the sound of water, the sound of the faucet and the toilet being flushed, and he winced as Rin slapped the light on for a minute, presumably to look for toilet paper or something. He was having a hard time breathing evenly, but he was in bed, safe. This was his normal bed. This was his normal sister Vocaloid.

"Len? Hey, you have a nightmare?" Rin asked in a slurry, sleepy tone as she stumbled back towards her bed but couldn't quite manage it, and crawled literally with all four limbs up into Len's bed instead. Normally he would scowl at her and tell her to go back to her own bed, but tonight, her tiny body's warmth suddenly seemed like a lifeline to their everyday normalcy. "Lennnn. I'm sleepy, let me sleep with you. I'll scare the nightmares away so let me sleep here, okay?"

"Nightmares..?" Len asked numbly. He blinked his eyes. They felt dry and gritty. He blinked again, and suddenly his chest felt less tight. "I'm in bed. This is my room. Our room. It was a nightmare, Rin..?"

"Go to sleep, pillow-Len. When you wake up you won't even remember your nightmare. I'll vanquish it for you, don't worry, because I'm a superhero," Rin mumbled and rudely yanked her twin's arm to use as a personal pillow. It wasn't half a second later that her gentle sleeping sounds resumed rhythmically, and it wasn't half a minute later that her sleep drool began to soak through Len's pajama top's sleeve.

"When I wake up, things will be like normal," Len whispered to himself, his quiet, anxious voice desperate. "What I saw... _must've_ been a dream. Master wouldn't really do that kind of horrible thing. Yeah. It's a dream. Just a bad one. I should stop stealing Kaito's ice cream, this is what happens. Right? Hah.. ha... yeah, I was... dreaming? Right? Rin? Man, you're a heavy sleeper."

Len closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but despite his decision, it didn't come. After a long time, he turned his body a little and, though he'd never admit it to Rin if she asked, he snaked his other arm around her narrow belly and hugged her back closely to him, letting her small body's warmth and comfort finally, finally lull him into a dreamless sleep. 


	6. Chapter 6

"...I don't know if I can do this."

Numb blue eyes stared unseeing, upwards at the bland, off-white ceiling. The bed was soft; he knew it was, but it hurt everywhere his body touched it.

Even though it meant the stains would have the chance to set, he hadn't been able to bring himself to stay in front of the washing machine, guarding his soiled clothing, until the blood count be scrubbed and washed away last night. So instead, Kaito's signature coat and brown slacks lay in a rumpled pile under the bed, just out of view from the doorway. Just in case someone came to knock on the door, it was important to hide the evidence.

Everything hurt.

Kaito wanted to close his eyes, but instead he just kept looking at the ceiling... as if by moving even an eyelash, the rest of the day would come, and then go, and then night would come again... and Master would expect him to practice singing, alone with the human, once again. The bluenette Vocaloid's mind refused to think about the eventual outcome, refused to deal, but his memories kept replaying behind his open eyelids, unforgiving.

 _"Kaito, again, faster. This part of the beat. Faster. I'll help you."_

 _"Master please, it hurts, it hurts, I can't sing!" Sounds of crying._

 _"Don't shirk your work! Are you trying to make your Master angry? You're not human, Kaito. You're just an instrument. You don't have feelings. You can't BE hurt. Now. Sing. Get it right. I'll help you with the rhythm."_

 _Faster movements, greater pain, crying and singing his heart out, yet Master wouldn't allow a break, wouldn't stop. The vicious grip on Kaito's soft blue hair yanking his head backwards, his throat outwards._

 _"It helps the sound be better, doesn't it? Even though your voicebanks are so low quality... I wonder, Kaito... why it is, even with all I do for you... why is it, you still remain a failure? Maybe I need to be stricter with your discipline. Maybe you need a firmer hand with your lessons. I'm always too gentle with you. Or maybe... you're just destined to always be this. Worthless. Tell me, Kaito. Say it in your words."_

"I need to throw up," Kaito heard his voice speaking and tried to breathe normally. The sound coming from his throat was harsh, grating, damaged. Abused. It sounded ugly. Maybe Master was right. Maybe this was why he was a failure. He didn't have a bright sound. He was nothing. Maybe he was worse than nothing. He had to be, to deserve what he had been getting. It was some kind of karma, and he just wasn't smart enough to figure out how to even it out.

A cheerful knock on Kaito's door came, and he managed to move his eyes away from the ceiling and to roll to one side, then painfully, painfully, got himself up. Not having the confidence that more blood hadn't seeped through his nightclothes, Kaito only cracked the door open to see who was knocking. His whole body felt heavy.

"Hey, it's breakfast, Kaito! Are you coming, Kaito-nii-san?" Meiko leaned forward and grinned through the crack in the door. Kaito stared back at her. He smiled.

"Sorry, I slept in late," Lying. Again. Unforgivable. More unforgivable: why. Meiko was still waiting there for his response. "I'll wash up and come have breakfast. Thanks, Mei-chan."

Such a cute face, a great smile, a beautiful body... a clear, bright, wonderful voice. Meiko tilted her head and smiled back, looking like an angel. She nodded, and held up one perfectly manicured, red-lacquered finger.

"You need to take better care of yourself! Your voice sounds terrible. Don't spend all day in bed, okay? I'll make you some chamomile tea to help it, when you're up, okay?"

Kaito nodded stiffly. If hurt, but he tried to keep the blank smile on his face and not let the pain show through. He wanted to be grateful for Meiko's friendly kindness, but her smiling face just reminded him of his own failings. His own fake smile. And the reason why he had to fake it. She was so beautiful, the other Vocaloids all were. Unlike Kaito. It just made his ugliness all the more unforgivable.

Meiko turned, left. Kaito closed the door and looked down at his rumpled night clothing. After a moment, he got up the energy to check himself over.

Yes, there was more blood, but the flow seemed to be pretty much done. That meant he needed to stuff his underwear with tissues so it wouldn't leak through while he sat at the table. Mechanically, Kaito's arms and legs moved, slowly. It hurt a lot more than usual. Was it because Master had just had a session with him the night before? Twice in a row. And tonight would be the third night in a row. Kaito grabbed at his chest and wheezed suddenly, gasping for breath that was frozen in his lungs without warning. His slim legs buckled, and he caught himself on the blankets, but they couldn't hold him up, and only slowed his fall by a fraction of a second. He fell on the floor with a thump. The blankets were still in his blue-tipped hand. He couldn't seem to figure out how to unclench his fingers from their softness as he repeatedly gasped loud breath sounds like a fish out of water.

"I can't, I can't," Kaito heard himself wailing suddenly, and the panic that slammed into him upon hearing his own voice gave him the strength to get control of his hands back. He slapped both of them over his mouth to muffle it, so no one could hear, as he started to sob noisily. He hunched over himself and tried to curl up into a ball, but every small movement hurt more, and fed his uncontrolled cries further. The muffled sounds coming from his abused voicebox were eerie, scary, and oh, so, so disgustingly ugly. Hearing those sounds made Kaito feel lower than dirt, but he dared not take his hands away from his mouth to cover his ears. If someone heard him, they'd come to check on him, and then they would know he was filthy.

'Meiko is going to wonder where I am. Master might get angry, if I'm not at breakfast.' Thinking these thoughts didn't help, and Kaito couldn't stop. It was taking too long, too long, for his body to have its pathetic little breakdown cryfest, and throughout the entirety of it, Kaito just felt more helpless and angry with himself... and more disgusted. More dirty... more pathetic. 'I can't even control my own body. How unimpressive, me. Get it together. No wonder you're useless. Master is right about you, isn't he? If you can't even control yourself.'

When finally it was done, everything still hurt, except now Kaito was twice as exhausted, and he smelled gross to boot. Anyone coming near to his body would know. Not just the smell of Master and Master's thick, sticky cum all over him, inside him, but the smell of failure, of shame, of pathetic, useless, worthless tears and snot. That smell proved that Kaito was disgusting. He needed to wash it away. It, and his clothes. And then go to breakfast. Unsteady limbs used all their remaining strength to lift Kaito to his feet. His breath shook, and the reflection of his face in the glass of the framed photographs on the wall looked terrified, pale, and unattractive.

He didn't want to see it.

New clothes. Comb. Toiletries. A towel. Each thing took too long, too much work to get, and Kaito's body felt like crying again just from the physical effort. Every bend felt like knives in his lower guts. Made him worry that he'd start to bleed again. Dirty his clothes. More. Again.

'Maybe I can sneak one of the girls' pads from the shared bathroom. That's designed for blood. It should be okay,' he thought to himself. The hammering of his heart in fear of being seen, being caught, before he could bathe again, made him feel even more lightheaded. 'Just breathe. You can do it, right? Right? You can do it. You have to do it. You have to. Though if this is how life is going to be, maybe it would be better to be uninstalled. No, don't think of it. You can do it. Just do it. Now. Do it, Kaito.'

Somehow, he got to the bathroom and locked the door behind him, unstopped.

Sitting on the toilet seat, waiting for the water to warm up, breathing unevenly, and trying to ignore his body, Kaito focused on what was important now. His normal, smiling face. His friendly, cheery demeanor. Getting through breakfast. Maybe if he practiced the song before tonight's special session, he'd be able to get it. A despairing laugh came out of his mouth and he leaned forward, pressed his forehead against his palms, between his knees. 'There's no way I can master that song before tonight. Not even if my voice wasn't messed up like this. There's no way. I can't do it.'

The water slucied the smell of failure away, but Kaito didn't linger. Sitting had hurt, and standing hurt just as much. Dripping onto the bathmat on the floor, he rummaged around in the medicine cabinet to try to find Master's headache pills. When he found them, he stared at the small pills in the palm of his hand. Closed his eyes. Swallowed them. Even if they didn't help, the way he felt now was unbearable. Even if it meant Master's angry face when the medicine went missing, Kaito couldn't not take them.

"I wonder if I'll get punished even worse if Master finds out," Kaito wondered a little too late, and debated trying to throw the pills up in order to put them back in the bottle. He held his midsection for a few long, indecisive moments, before toweling off and getting dressed. It'd be obvious even if he threw them up, that someone had touched them. It was too late to put them back.

The reflected face in the mirror looked tired, and its dull blue eyes were blank and looked dead. Kaito stared at his reflection a long moment, then smiled his practiced smile. It looked so fake. But it was all he had. Maybe no one would notice. No one ever noticed, so it would probably be okay.

Opening the door, feeling the fresh air from the hallway on his aching skin, Kaito slowly made his way to the dining room, and prepared himself as much as he mentally could, for the everyday, normal interactions of the morning.

* * *

"Hehehe," Rin was grinning a weird gooney grin. Len frowned at her.

"What?" the blonde male Vocaloid asked, annoyed. Rin just grinned back even bigger, looking even more weird than before.

"Ohhhh, nothing," the blonde female practically sang at him, then grabbed a piece of fruit from the basket on the table, and bit into it, apparently in a good mood. Len scowled, then scratched his head. His sister Vocaloid was so cute, yet she could be really annoying when she refused to answer his questions.

"Morning, o-niiiii-san!" Rin yodeled out through a bite of fruit. Len resisted the urge to facepalm and tell Rin not to talk with her mouth full, but then realized that "onii-san" was Kaito, and stopped. He turned in his seat and stared at the blue-haired Vocaloid male. Kaito walked into the room slowly, carefully, and smiled at Rin, then at Len. His normal smile.

The tension in Len's body relaxed as Len smiled back, feeling unreasonably relieved. After the nightmare he'd had the night before... well, it had seed so real. He'd wondered about it, but here was Kaito, normal, no blood, and smiling back at Len's cute little Rinny. Len lifted his head, crossed his arms, and stuck just his lower lip out in a bit of an annoyed pouty face. Just because Kaito was a nice Vocaloid with a decent voice didn't mean Rin had to give him all the attention, after all.

Len's arms dropped after a moment, and he glanced back at Kaito. Really, he was glad that crappy dream had just been a nightmare. It was a relief, almost a bit giddy, when he thought of it.

"Good morning, Rin, Len," Kaito said, and his voice sounded terrible. Len froze stiff in his chair at the sound of it.

"Ah! Kaito-san! I made your tea," Meiko interrupted them, and put a mug in front of Kaito. He smiled at her and wrapped his blue-tipped fingers around the mug's warmth.

"Thanks, Meiko," Kaito replied quietly, as if it would help his voice sound better if it was quieter.

"What happened to your voice, onii-chan?" Rin scooted close to Kaito, but Len's normal flare of jealousy was replaced with a sense of foreboding dread.

"I sang a little too hard. Sorry, Rin, you shouldn't have to hear me when I sound like this," Kaito was saying, and Len's hands clenched into fists under the table in anxiety. That dream was just a dream. Right?

"Kaito onii-chan, guess what? Len slept with me last night. He snuggled right up next to me and held me like a teddy bear! Isn't that funny?" Rin giggled evilly, her hands near her mouth. Len gaped and flushed in embarrassment. So that's why she'd been laughing earlier!

"I... I did not!" Len shouted a little too loudly, blushing.

"You did too! You had a nightmare and snuggled up to me like a baby! It was so cute!" Rin responded mercilessly, her twin blue eyes twinkling with enjoyment. Len's angry expression faltered at the comment about the nightmare. "What was it about, anyways? You seemed pretty scared. Lucky for you you have a good sister like me to protect you from your scary dreams, Len."

"I... I don't remember," Len mumbled and sat back down at the table, but then looked up and at Kaito, feeling uncertain again. The bluenette glanced back at him, and smiled once again. Something moved a little ways behind Kaito. Len's eyes looked up to check what it was, and saw Master there.

"Good morning, Master!" Meiko said happily, and Kaito jerked. Len's eyes watched as Kaito's pupils enlargened, constricted, and his face went as pale as a ghost. Saw the frightened look and the momentary shaking of his body. Saw Kaito's blue nails dig hard, hard, into his hands, and suddenly, Kaito was smiling again, normal again, as the human strode confidently into the room, looking at each of his Vocaloids one by one.

"Good morning, everyone," Master replied, pleased. "Good morning."

Len stared at Kaito, then wrenched his eyes back to Master.

"Good morning, Master. Did you have a good sleep?" Miku was standing close to Master, delighted to see him, as Luka gently set a mug of hot coffee in front of Master's place at the table. Kaito was smiling. A frozen smile, the same as he always did.

It hadn't been a dream. It wasn't a dream.

Kaito looked back at Len, smiling, and hid his hands under the table, so no one could see that where his blue-lacquered fingernails dug into his skin was starting to bleed.


	7. Chapter 7

_(Author's Note: Talkloid video reference: "Shizukana kohan" "Cool Kaito and Handsome Len")_

* * *

"Luka, Len, Rin," Master stated, grabbing everyone's attention, as they finally finished their breakfasts. The human put his almost-empty coffee mug down on the table. "I'd like to hear your progress so far on your present songs. We don't record again for another week, but I want to make sure you're coming along well. I don't want your fans to be disappointed if your next recording session isn't a hit. I've got plans for dinner tonight, so let's do a practice session before dinner."

"My song is coming along really well, Master!" Luka said, excited. "There's still a few rough spots but I think you're going to be very pleased!"

"Yay! We get to sing for Master!" Rin exclaimed in her high-pitched voice. She high-fived Len, who looked a little worried for some reason. She leaned the front of her small body on top of his banana-haired head and grinned down at Len from above.

"And you, Len?" Master prompted, turning his gaze upon the blonde Kagamine male. Len looked back at Master and tried to smile like he thought Master expected.

"I... I could use some more practice, too, Master... but the song is good," Len managed to say. Master nodded as if satisfied.

"If you want to get in any extra practice before then, you may do so," Master finished and stood, leaving the Vocaloids to take care of his dirty dishes. Meiko picked up the dishes and brought them, along with Miku's and her own, into the kitchen to get them washed.

As soon as Master left, Kaito stood as well, said a quiet, "I'm done. Thank you for the meal," and left. His body's movements were controlled and a little stiff.

Rin watched Kaito's disappearing back with a pout.

"Kaito-nii-chan must've tripped over something again. He's walking stiff again. He barely even said anything to anyone this morning. And his voice sounded horrible, I'm glad he doesn't have to sing today," Miku said a little unhappily, watching his back disappear. "I wish he'd take better care of himself."

"Yeah!" Rin piped up, crossing her arms and nodding at Miku. "He hasn't played with us very much for a long time."

Len got up and took his dishes to the kitchen as well. Meiko looked over at the blonde male Vocaloid and smiled, taking the dishes from him and putting them into the sink filled with water and soap bubbles.

"Meiko?" Len asked after standing there for a while.

"Hm? What is it, Len-kun?" The brown-haired Vocaloid female had her hands in the water, washing the dishes.

"What... what do you do, if... something really bad happens, and you don't know what to do? To... to stop it, or fix it?" Len swallowed.

"Something bad, Len? Do you want to talk about it? What happened?" Meiko paused in her movements and looked over again. Len was quiet.

"I don't think you'd believe me," he said finally. "But... if someone is getting hurt... and you don't know what to do to stop it, what do you do?"

Meiko put the rinsed dish she was holding down into the drainer and turned to give Len her full attention.

"I guess... I'd tell Master about it? Or I'd ask someone for advice," Meiko said, frowning in concern. "Kaito's good at figuring stuff like this out. If you don't feel comfortable talking to me about it, maybe Kaito can help you, Len-kun?"

Len tensed, and stared at Meiko, his face complicated with pain at the mention of Kaito's name.

"Y-yeah. Kaito-nii always... is good at figuring out these kinds of things, isn't he?" Len clenched his fists and tried to smile at Meiko. She smiled back, her expression lightening, figuring that the problem would be solved.

"Can you help rinse, Len? It always goes faster with two people washing," Meiko moved over to give Len room to join her at the sink. He stepped up after a moment, and began helping. "Len, whatever it is, I'm sure you can figure it out. Just have confidence in yourself and do your best, okay?"

Len didn't reply, but just watched his yellow-tipped hands as they rinsed the bubbles away from the now-clean breakfast dishes, one by one.

* * *

"Hrrrggn, I can't find it," Rin whined. Len glanced over at her. Her entire head was stuck inside the freezer, and only her slightly wiggling butt and legs could be seen.

"What are you looking for? The orange juice is already made up and in the fridge," Len replied, though he smiled a little at the view, then cleared his throat and looked away as a pouting Rin slammed the freezer door, looking disgruntled.

"I wanted to sneak Kaito-onii-chan's aisu," the blonde female Vocaloid whispered in a dramatically sneaky voice. "It's been in there for a while. But now I can't find it."

Len swallowed his intense guilt hard. But then he felt a little mad.

"Why do you want to steal it? It's Kaito's! You should leave it alone," Self-recrimination was in that upset response, but Rin blinked at Len's words, surprised.

"But it's fun to sneak things from onii-chan! Anyways... he hasn't played with me recently. Not enough, anyways. Maybe if I steal his aisu he'll come scold me," Rin replied easily, grinning with mischief.

"Well, you're too late, because I ate it yesterday," Len admitted, remembering the event with a sense of unhappiness. "And he didn't scold me, so you're out of luck, Rin. Anyways, it's too late for a snack. You're gonna ruin your lunch."

"Awwww," the blonde female whined a little bit in disappointment and draped herself over Len's shoulder, looking at his face close up. Len looked back at her, his sister Vocaloid's cute scrunched-up face making him smile a little despite his troubles. "Well, I guess I'll have to think of something else to do, then, huh?"

"Rin, you know... we steal stuff from Kaito kind of a lot, don't we?" Len's smile faded a bit as he thought about it, but then met Rin's blinking eyes again. "But we never give him anything back."

"Don't be dumb, Len-kun. Of course we give him something back. Our wonderful and amazing attention! What could be better than receiving the gift of 'us'?" Rin grinned shamelessly and stood up straight, fluffing her short blonde hair as if to accentuate what a good deal the Kagamines paying attention to you was. She winked shamelessly at Len, and he couldn't help but laugh. Rin's antics always lifted Len's mood.

"You're right, nothing is better than attention from the cute and sexy Kagamines," Len replied, grinning.

"That's right, and don't you forget it. I still know how to use that road roller, you know. If you forget it, I'll have to show you," Rin proclaimed. "And now I will demonstrate my awesome powers with a grand exit."

Putting both palms up to the sky, Rin stood stock still a moment until she was sure Len's eyes were on her, then she cartwheeled out of the room. Len facepalmed as Rin disappeared from sight. But Rin ruined the drama by uttering a muffled "ta-da!" from around the corner.

"Nice," Len called out with one hand cupped around his mouth to project his voice. A giggling voice became softer as Rin presumably walked the rest of the way away, towards wherever she was headed next.

"I shouldn't have stolen it," Len said to himself quietly as the silence of the room surrounded him. "I wonder if I have any money. Maybe I can buy Kaito a new ice cream."

* * *

"Kaito? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Len asked, a plastic bag from the convenience store in one of his hands. Kaito stopped and turned, waiting for Len. The blonde male caught up and stood in front of his brother Vocaloid, but Len didn't speak, even though he was standing right there... as if he'd forgotten what he intended to say.

Len stared at Kaito. Kaito stared back at Len. The bluenette's smile was gentle and friendly. Len wondered to himself when the last time he had really, truly, looked at the blue-haired Vocaloid was. Wondered how long that soft, gentle smile had been practiced.

"Does it hurt?" Len asked abruptly. It wasn't what Len had meant to ask, or to say. But Kaito's smile flickered for just a moment before it returned, as if it hadn't left. Kaito tilted his blue head slightly.

"It's just a sore throat," the bluenette replied mildly. Len's lower lip quivered, and he pressed his lips firmly together as he looked downwards. Now that he was looking right at Kaito, he couldn't help but be faced with the reality of last night. Even if Kaito didn't know it, all Len could see was Master's legs, too close to Kaito's legs, and the sounds of sobbing and agony in his brother Vocaloid's normally beautiful voice. The splotches of blood on the floor from violence.

"I'm sorry," the whisper was sincere. Len didn't know what to do to solve this for Kaito. The bluenette didn't want Len knowing what he knew in the first place. Kaito had begged Master not to tell anyone. But the very human they depended on, their Master, was the villain. How could Len- or any of them- stop this from happening?

Len wished he could ask Kaito for his advice. Meiko was right that the older Vocaloid male was always good at figuring out the answers to things. But Kaito was the one in trouble now, and he clearly didn't have the answers either. Maybe Len shouldn't push into Kaito's problems. Not when he couldn't even figure out how to solve them.

Part of the blonde's mind still refused to believe that Master's actions were reality. Didn't want to believe Master was anything but the miraculous human who gave the Vocaloids meaning, life, and composed their songs.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what to do to fix it, Kaito. I'm sorry." Len's eyes were shut tightly. He hugged his own waist as if it could give him comfort. His face looked like it was in pain. Kaito watched him, the smile dropping from his face.

"It's not your fault," Kaito said, but his voice sounded flat this time. Len looked back up, and jolted back a little. The expression on Kaito's face... "You don't need to apologize, Len. It's just a sore throat, after all."

"...Oh," Len replied, shocked. Was this what Kaito's true face looked like, now? The blonde male's own face reflected his troubled and anxious thoughts.

"If you're all set with me, I'm going to go practice my new song," Kaito said. He turned slowly, as if moving was difficult, as if his body parts felt fragile.

"Wait," Len said, remembering. "Kaito? About your ice-"

"It's okay, Len. I already said you didn't have to worry about it," Kaito responded, stopping, but not turning back. Len lowered his head, feeling like dirt. The crinkly plastic of the bag in his hand forced him to take a breath for courage.

"I know, but, the truth is... Kaito, the truth is, I was jealous of you. Of Master- of Rin... giving you their attention. I thought it was fair if I ate your ice cream... to punish you because I was sulking. But I..." Len swallowed. Kaito's hands had clenched into fists and his shoulders were tense and shivering slightly. The bluenette's slim back looked so small, as if it were defeated, all of a sudden. Len took a deep breath and continued talking.

"The fact is, I... always look up to you, nii-san. I'm always... trying to sound as good as you do, when you sing. Your voice is so incredible, and you're always nice to us... to me and to Rin... even when we're not nice back to you. You're always there for me, when I get confused about something that doesn't make any sense, and you explain things. You're... you're 'Kakoi-to.' No matter whether your voice sounds like... it's been put through a meat grinder. You're always 'cool Kaito' to me, no matter what. And... I'm sorry." Len blinked away tears. "I'm sorry. Kaito? I know it's not enough to say it but..."

Len rummaged around in the bag, and Kaito's ears heard the crinkling. Something cold and with beads of moisture on the outside of it, touched his cheek. Kaito turned slowly, and came to face with an individual ice cream. He stared at it.

"I wasn't sure what flavor you like best, so I just kind of guessed. Is... it okay?" Len smiled, anxious; a trembling small smile. Kaito's eyes went back to the ice cream. Vanilla with caramel. Hagen Daaz. "Um... if something else is better, I can go back to the store but... I just didn't have a lot of money to buy stuff with, so... if you can wait... I mean... um-"

"Thank you," Kaito said in his damaged voice. Blue tipped fingers took the tiny container from Len's hands and held it for a long moment. "...Cool... Kaito?"

"Yeah," Len smiled a little. "Remember? Cool Kaito and-"

"And 'handsome Len,'" Kaito smiled, a weird quirk of one side of his mouth, as if his face only remembered half of what it needed to do. One of Kaito's hands curled around the ice cream. The other one covered his eyes and part of his face. Portions of blue bangs stuck out softly between Kaito's fingers. The half quirky smile stayed there as clear moisture beaded in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. "I forgot about that."

"All the girls find me irresistable," Len reminded Kaito. The bluenette wiped his eyes with the back of his free hand, and smiled at Len again, blue eyes shadowy, as Len smiled back. "If you want, I'll let you be my side-kick, nii-san."

"I thought Rin was supposed to be the super hero," Kaito replied.

"Kaito... Listen," Len said, awkward again. "You can talk to me anytime, about anything. Okay? Even... even if... I'm no good. Even if I can't do anything. Even though I don't know how to fix anything and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Kaito, but... you're still my Kaito-nii-san. Nobody can replace you for me. Kaito..? no matter what anyone ever tells you. You're NOT a fail. You're... you're just Kaito. Nobody, nothing can change that. So... Um... Just... I... hope you like the ice cream, okay?"

Turning to quickly leave after speaking, Len tried to pretend his face wasn't flushed from embarrassment from saying too much, tried to pretend there weren't tears burning in his eyes. But what else could he do? As pathetic as it made him feel, he didn't know what to do to help his older Vocaloid brother. Kaito needed help and Len couldn't help him. He felt like a shit friend. A shit sibling. He couldn't even protect Kaito, who had always been around whenever the others needed him. A stupid thing of ice cream wouldn't help anything. Len felt powerless.

"Damn it!" Len punched his bedroom door hard, making it rattle on its hinges impotently. "What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do..?"

* * *

Kaito sat down at the dining table gingerly. He opened the ice cream and picked up his spoon, but didn't eat yet. He just looked at it. It was already starting to melt on the edges. It looked creamy. It smelled clean and fresh, like sweet milk. Lifting up the spoon, his body protesting even that small movement, Kaito lifted the first bite to his mouth and placed it inside. It began to melt on contact, dissolving into sweet cold sugary beauty and perfection. It had been a while since he'd been given an ice cream freely, as an encouragement.

 _"Nobody can replace you. You're not a fail. You're always 'cool Kaito' to me. You're just... Kaito. No matter what."_

"I'm not a fail..? I'm Kaito. I'm... cool Kaito," Kaito mumbled in his abused-sounding voice, and took another bite of ice cream. It was perfect. "I'm just Kaito. I'm cool... Kaito-nii. Me. I am. Right? I just have to remember that. I forgot it."

Kaito hugged his spoon as if it were alive, and smiled painfully, painfully, a real smile, down at the table. "I'm Kaito-nii-san. No matter what. I can do this. I'll be cool Kaito. I will. As long as even one person still believes in me, I can... right? It hurts, Len. My body really... hurts."

But for a few beautiful moments, ice cream melted on Kaito's tongue and down his throat, and he remembered what it was to be himself again.


	8. Chapter 8

Len couldn't concentrate on practicing his song, so he went to get lunch, distracted and in a depressed mood. Looking around and seeing Kaito was nowhere to be seen didn't help. The blonde Vocaloid male signed and sat down, reaching distractedly for one of the sandwiches that were in a big pile on a plate in the middle of the dining table. He didn't feel very hungry, but it's not like he could focus on getting anything good done at the moment.

"Are they good, Len?" Luka asked hopefully. Len stopped mid-mouthful and looked down at the partly eaten sandwich in his hand. He hadn't even registered what type it was, let alone whether it tasted good. "Miku and I made them. Fresh tuna with fresh negi, a negitoro specialty!"

The pink-haired female beamed with pride, hoping for a compliment from her brother Vocaloid. Len swallowed, and glanced around for Miku briefly, sweatdropping. That question was rife with getting him into trouble if he answered it. But there was no polite way around it. She had him cornered.

"Um... it's very good. Nice job, Luka," he replied once his mouth was empty. He tried to smile. Luka smiled back, clearly happy with his praise. Sidling up next to Len, she put her face very close to his, an excited light to her eyes.

"Which is better? The negi or the tuna? Which part tastes best inside the sandwich? You can tell me, Len, go ahead," Luka urged in a quiet, sweet voice full of wide-eyed pressure. Len swallowed again.

"HEEEEEYYYY! LEEEENNNN!" Rin slammed into the table too fast, from nowhere, as it caught her by the midsection. The contents of the table jolted badly, and the fairer Kagamine twin grinned and flashed a shameless V-sign to the other Vocaloids present. Len had never been so grateful for an interruption. He put his sandwich down quickly.

"What- are those roller skates?!" Meiko asked. "Master already said not to use those indoors!"

"Awww, Mei-channnn," Rin whined, and sat down, kicking her legs. The purple-and-pink rollerblades in question were indeed strapped to her small feet. Luka huffed and pulled away as Miku entered the room, ruining her chances for getting Len to choose tuna over negi. The teal-haired diva flashed a grin at Rin, her own rollerblades thrown carefully over one shoulder. It was clear they'd been rollerblading outside together. Rin laughed back at Miku, shrugged unapologetically, and bent over to untie her long, colorful laces.

"Thanks," Len whispered under his breath as Rin leaned over, close enough for her to hear him. She winked and shot him a brief grin, as if to imply it was an intentional save, then sat back up, scanning the table for possible oranges.

"Kaito isn't here for lunch?" Meiko's voice broke into Len's thoughts again, sounding concerned.

"Oh- I heard him, in his room," Miku said, her cheery smile fading. "It sounded like he was trying to practice a song, but it didn't... sound very good, at all. I'm a little worried. He should be resting his voicebox, not practicing, when he sounds like that. And the song he was singing..."

"What, what about the song?" Luka looked over, interested now. "Is it the new song?"

"I don't know what it was," Miku said, her lips pressed thinly together. A concerned look was on her face. "I don't understand what Kaito's thinking lately... he's been more withdrawn. He spends most of his time practicing, but he barely records anything anymore. I wonder if he's okay."

Glancing up at Miku, Len debated whether to say anything, but Rin's explosive sigh broke the silence, and the moment passed.

"Well, maybe he needs to practice more before he records next time, to get really, really good. Like the new song Master gave me! I can't wait to let Master hear it!" Luka enthused.

"You love Master a lot, don't you, Luka?" Miku asked, all smiles.

"Of course, of course!" Luka rejoined, grinning.

"What if it was a choice between Master and tuna?" Miku asked, challengingly, and Len started to tune them out.

"No, no, what if it was Master or negi, Miku? Master or negi, Miku?" Luka responded as Len got up and left the dining room, his sandwich only half finished.

Rin watched him leave and frowned to herself a little.

"Rin, do you know what's bothering him?" Meiko asked quietly, as the other two girls got caught up in their bickering. "Len was trying to ask me something earlier, but wouldn't tell me any details."

"I dunno," Rin said, and slunk into her chair. "First Kaito-nii, and then Len... if everybody starts acting boring, pretty soon, I'll be left alone to play by myself."

"Well..." Meiko started to say, then shook her head and rethought whatever she was about to say. "Rin, why don't I play with you this afternoon? Once lunch is done, and we're washed up... I can play with you until the practice session. Would that be okay?"

"Yay! Yes! Meiko-onee-chan, that sounds great. Let's play road rollers!" Rin grinned, eyes lighting up.

"I was thinking something a little different," Meiko said, grinning back. "But first, eat up!" 

* * *

"Are you ready, Len? Master's ready for you and Rin!" Miku called out in a ringing voice down the hallway. "Don't be late, okay? Luka's already on her way!"

Len groaned and rubbed his eyes with the pads of his palms, getting up out of bed. Somehow, he'd falled asleep. Now he felt groggy and a little nauseated from waking up too quickly. The word "Master" being put into the mix didn't help much either. Taking a deep breath, Len swung his legs out underneath him and got up off the bed. A quick trip to the twins' shared bathroom made a quick fix of his dischevelled hair.

Getting up some courage, Len closed his bedroom door behind him. A giggling pair of voices coming from further down the hall were precursor to Meiko and Rin coming out of Meiko's room. Len stopped and blinked. Rin grinned and waved a little wave, coming his way. Len was in the process of opening his mouth to ask a question, when a flash of blue behind the girls caught his eye. Meiko noticed Len's eye movement, and turned, then smiled widely.

"Kaito! You came out! How is your voice doing?" The brunette female took a step to one side, letting Kaito join them in a cluster. "Master just called for the practice session."

"It's fine," Kaito said in a voice that sounded worse and more abused than before, but as he looked at Len, something in his eyes seemed a little more normal than usual. Len tried to smile. Kaito's expression seemed like a good sign, but Len just wasn't quite sure what face to show. He felt too anxious still. "Len? Thanks for... the ice cream, earlier. I might have a new favourite."

"Whaaaaat? Ice cream, and you didn't give me any?" Rin complained and put her hands on her hips, scolding. Len scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.

"Well, next time, maybe we can have it together? Kaito-nii-san?" Len asked, grinning nervously. Kaito blinked, then smiled, and it was a soft smile.

"That sounds great, I'd like that," quietly, Kaito nodded. Rin threw up her hands with a celebratory sound of delight, and hugged Kaito, then hugged Len, then hugged Meiko. Triple blushes of varying depth met Rin's excited expression. She rubbed her little hands together as if to plot what flavor she would have, ignoring all three blushes.

Coughing a little, Meiko looked upwards, with a happy, flushed smile of her own, before getting back down to business, "Well, we should get going... if everyone's going to listen to Rin and Len sing, right?"

"Yes! Come," Rin commanded absolutely, and grabbed both of the older Vocaloids' hands with her own, dragging them step by step towards the studio like she was an ox and they were a cart. Kaito's soft small faltered as they went down the hall, but he allowed himself to be led. Len walked beside to his blue-haired brother Vocaloid, unable to get out of going anyways, even if he wanted to. But like Kaito, it still made the blonde male feel more nervous as he got closer to the place wished he hadn't snuck just into last night.

All traces of Len's and Kaito's smiles were both completely gone by the time they reached the studio door. Kaito took a deep, measured breath, and Len glanced at him. Rin had no hesitation and flung the door open uncerimoneously. Kaito realized Len was looking at him, and he tried to smile. It was his practiced smile. Len frowned anxiously, but took a breath as well, and stepped into the studio.

"We were wondering if you were coming," Miku chided. Master was standing next to Luka. The pink-haired female Vocaloid was adjusting the microphone Kaito had used last night to her own height. She looked up and smiled proudly at the human. "Luka's just about ready!"

"Luka, you can sing first," Master intoned, a pleased look on his face. "Let me hear how you're coming along. You said it's good, right?"

"Yes, Master! I love this song," Luka replied, happy. "I'm ready as soon as you say so."

"That's what I like to hear. You're a good singer, and good at taking instruction, Luka," Master patted Luka's head, and she beamed with pleasure. "If everyone is here, I'll begin the music. Since this isn't a recording session, we don't have to be worried about everyone being perfectly quiet, but all the same, I would like a respectful silence during the practice, if you will."

Miku closed the door behind them, then returned to her normal place when listening to recording sessions. One by one, the other Vocaloids followed suit. Master looked at Luka, and nodded. The pink-haired female Vocaloid grabbed the microphone stand and prepared to sing. Master turned the bgm on, and the song began.

Luka opened her mouth to sing, but her feminine voice was swallowed up by the instrumental. She blinked, confused, then tapped the microphone. It was dead. Luka's mouth opened in dismay, her face a mask of being upset. Master clicked the music off and went closer to her to see what was happening.

"I don't understand, Master, I did everything right! It's just not working," Luka cried, sounding devastated.

"Kaito was using this last night," Master replied slowly. "Maybe the mic got short-circuited, or burnt out, or broken..?"

"Kaito, did you break it?!" Luka's teary eyes sought Kaito out, but his body was as stiff as a board. He didn't open his mouth to explain, offer help, or say anything. He just stared at nothing, unmoving, face completely blank. Master put his hand on Luka's shoulder, getting her attention. He shook his head.

"It's alright, Luka. Don't worry, whatever happened, we have a spare microphone. It's not as high quality, but it'll do for a practice session... until we can replace this one. Can you go get it? It's in the overflow closet with the other instruments."

Luka nodded and wiped her eyes, then ran out of the room to get the replacement mic. She came back a few minutes later. Meiko went up to the dead mic and helped remove it off to one side, nearby to Kaito's position.

"Maybe we can figure out how to fix it," Meiko whispered, an encouraging and hopeful smile at the bluenette, nodding to the mic in question, "...after the practice. Don't be upset, okay, Kaito? I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

Kaito stared at the stand, then looked back over at Luka and Master, but didn't say anything. His hands were clenched hard together. Len's eyes were glued to the dead mic stand, too. He wrenched them away as Luka tapped the replacement mic with a "one, two" to make sure it worked.

"Alright, good," Master praised, and indicated to Luka to get ready once more. She took a deep breath again, and waited for the background instrumental to play. Master pressed the controller, and the bgm started one more. Luka opened her mouth and began to sing.

A haunting, beautiful melody washed through the room, entrancing the Vocaloids who listened. Luka hadn't been bragging when she said it sounded good. The song was sure to be popular, if not a hit, when it was recorded. Sweet, soulful minutes went as the song continued and then, finally, concluded, one last note reverberating in the air, until it died away and there was only silence left.

"Good, good, Luka," Master said, breaking the silence. "You really are well suited to this sort of song. I'm quite pleased! If you do this well in recording, I think things will go well with your popularity polls!"

"Thank you, Master, for giving me such a good song," Luka demurred, but her face was a bright pink blush of joy. Rin stepped up, anxious to prove herself with her song as well.

"Me next, Master, me next!" The blonde Vocaloid female begged. Master smiled indulgently at her, and patted Rin on the head. Len's hands clenched and his stomach twisted.

"You have a good work ethic, Rin! I appreciate that. But I'd like to hear Len's song next," the human replied, to Rin's disappointment. Len jolted.

"Ah... yes! I'll... I'm coming, Master," Len managed to say, and jerkily moved his body up to the microphone. He glanced at it nervously, then looked back at Master, then at Kaito, then swiftly back at the microphone, unhappy. A firm hand landed on his shoulder and made him jump.

"Don't be nervous, Len, just do the good job I know you can do," Master encouraged. Len nodded, but his nervousness didn't decrease any. Switching the track and finally clicking the new instrumental bgm on, Len breathed and began to sing.

The melody rose and fell in a crescendo, and Len almost could let himself go, fall into the music, but... Master moved a little bit, and startled him, causing two notes to foul. Len quickly caught himself, cursing inwardly, and focusing his attention on the song. He didn't need to get scolded. Not today. He was already worried enough. Glancing at Kaito as he wrapped up, the bluenette didn't seem to be listening. Kaito's blue-tipped fingers touched the dead microphone's stand in front of him gingerly.

The song concluded, and the bgm went silent. Master was looking at Len. Len's nervousness increased a hundredfold and his knees went stiff, worried about what the human would have to say.

"Well, it has potential, Len, but... you do definitely need more practice at it," the human said after a moment. "I don't know... maybe you need extra practice to get this one, if there's any chance of correcting it, before the next recording."

Master sighed quietly, as if thinking, then said something that chilled Len's bones.

"Alright, Len. Here's what we'll do. I'll have some extra, special practice sessions with you. We'll get you tuned up and sorted, so that you can live up to the bright, clear sound you're capable of."

"What? Master, you mean, like Kaito's special practice sessions? But I thought you only gave those to onii-chan," Luka said, dismayed and with a thread of jealous envy to her sweet voice.

"I think Kaito may be nearing towards the end of the usefulness of the sessions we have, in their present form," Master explained. "It'll be hard for me, but I think, if this puts the focus back where it needs to be, maybe it can be beneficial to both of you Vocaloids. I'll help you, Len, and if Kaito starts to improve more, maybe Kaito and I will revisit the issue to increase our sessions once again. I know Kaito wants to continue to try to do better, with the hopes towards earning an upgrade... but right now, Len, your performance is clearly slipping. We'll focus on that, and then go from there.

"I may be your Master, but I'm only one man, after all. I have to choose where to focus my attention, and who to give my extra, special practice sessions and guidance to. We need to work on correcting your problem areas in time for the scheduled recording session. So we'll start the additional sessions immediately, and work on your song until the recording session. Once I return from my dinner tonight, we'll begin, Len. I expect you to do well, with my help. "

Master's hand touched Len's golden blonde hair, ran its fingers through the unmanageable tufts of softness, and Master smiled at Len. Len stared back. He couldn't move. Every fiber of his body was screaming at him to move, but he couldn't. Len closed his eyes. 'Wake up. Wake up, Len.' Master's fingers were stroking his hair like they always stroked Kaito's.

"No," a soft, crackly voice spoke. "You can't."

Master looked up, his smile fading to a frown. Kaito was staring, at the place where Master's hand touched Len's hair.

"You can't. Not with anybody else," Kaito said again, but there was something wrong with his face. His pupils were huge. Blue-tipped fingers were touching the dead microphone's stand, trembling madly.

"Kaito, don't be greedy, Master is everyone's Master," Luka admonished gently, but she didn't look particularly upset at the idea of Len losing out on the special treatment. Master smiled, nodded, and turned back to face Len. He took a small step towards the blonde-haired male Vocaloid, opening his mouth. Something black and dully metallic moved so quickly that Len's eyes couldn't register what it was, but suddenly there was an splashing explosion of red that Len couldn't understand. Master crumpled to the floor.

"No!" Miku shrieked, but the black-and-now-red metal pole lifted, fell, smashed into Master's prone body and head, again and again. Len wondered why he couldn't hear anything, as splashes of liquid red decorated the studio, arcing out like paint as the heavy pole descended again, again, again. Some bits of the messy fluid hit his clothes, his arms, his face. He watched, still, everything on mute.

"NO ONE BUT ME! NO ONE BUT ME!" Kaito's lips were moving as if he was saying words, his eyes were crazy, as he hit Master again and again with the dead microphone stand. Miku and Luka were crying, looked like they were screaming, trying to hold Kaito back, to stop him, but his strength was too much, and they just got thrown backwards as Kaito's arms and hands continued to rise and descend. Rin had her mouth open in a tiny "o", a terrified look on her small face, and her yellow-tipped hands over her ears. Meiko stood like Len stood, rooted to the spot, unable to move or act.

"No one but me!" Kaito shrieked again and again in his broken, usually-beautiful voice, his pristine white coat splattered with blood and chunks of gore. He continued to hit the human who lay prone before him over and over again, even though the body no longer breathed, and Master's head was now crushed inwards like a summer watermelon. Where Master's face once was, where his eyes once were, his mouth... was only pulpy broken bits of bone, dark red, and chunky splatters of white-grey gore with dark red veins still attached, but collapsed, like tiny deflated balloons, remained. Chunks of meat and tissue, veins, bones.

Kaito shrieked and howled and screamed with the sound of insanity, even when the microphone stand broke, and he slid to the floor, his face a mess of tears, and his mouth wide open, gasping, he still was screaming. Dirty, blood-covered, shaking hands covered Kaito's ears as he howled, and suddenly Len could hear again. Could hear Kaito's voice.

The same despairing howl that he'd heard the night before, when Master was hurting Kaito. Somehow, somehow, Len's body moved.

Kneeling next to Kaito, almost as if falling to his knees, Len grabbed the blue-haired Vocaloid with both of his thin arms, ignoring Kaito's stronger fists hitting at him, and hugged Kaito tightly with every ounce of power he had, rocking back and forth with huge eyes that didn't, couldn't blink, staring at the wall, at anything but Master's gory, destroyed, bloody body. Held Kaito with everything he had and rocked back and forth, a weird, soft keen coming from his own throat, that sounded oddly like a long-forgotten melody to a lullaby.

Kaito stopped fighting and started sobbing, wailing. Len's ears tuned the rest of the way back in, and he heard more crying, female voices. Len's eyes focused on the girls, a short distance away. Luka's face was buried in Miku's chest, and the teal-haired female Vocaloid was holding her like a child, as if dazed. Both of their faces were soaked from tears, and smudges and splatters of red.

Len's head tilted painfully and he saw Rin and Meiko, shaking in place where they stood.

He looked back down at Kaito, who was crying great wracking sobs, as if his world was finished. And in between the sobs, quietly, in a broken voice, Kaito kept repeating the same thing over and over again.

"Nobody else. Nobody else. No. Nobody... but me." 


	9. Chapter 9

Luka couldn't stop crying. It was like she was completely helpless.

Dull, shocked teal eyes stared down at her Vocaloid sister's long pink hair then closed shut tightly against despairing tears of her own as Miku wondered what was going to happen to her family now. The devastated diva tightened her arms around Luka and tried to stop the trembling of her small body.

There was something wrong with Kaito. Something horribly wrong. Not just because of what he had done to their Master, but... when the police had arrived, accompanied by a terrified, wide-eyed Rin and a shaking Meiko, the bluenette had left so quietly with them. So quietly, without a word or a glance at anyone or anything. Without even a little facial expression. It was as if his beautiful blue eyes belonged to a dead person. As if he didn't have an ounce of strength left to his body or a shred left of his usually vibrant will. As if he wasn't Kaito, her big brother, anymore.

Her other, littler brother, Len, had stared after Kaito, with unfocusing eyes, too, as Kaito had been led away. The front of the male Kagamine's clothes were a mess of soaked and wrinkled fabric. His crystal clear blue eyes were open as widely as his twin sister's were, huge and unblinking, with dilated pupils, as he breathed unevenly, shallowly, and yellow-tipped, shaking fingers slowly curled around his own waist in a sick mockery of comfort, once Kaito had been removed from their care.

"We'll need you all to come down to the station, to give statements," one of the remaining police officers said, staring at them as if they, too, might become murderous dolls and attack. As if they had hurt their Master, not just Kaito. The human cop's fingers lingered a bit too near to his sidearm for comfort while he spoke. Miku stared back at him, trying to comprehend his words. "After that, we'll... have to call Vocaloid Services to see what will happen to you."

At that, teal-tipped hands tightened around Luka's body even further and Miku bowed her head against soft, silky pink hair in an expression of agony. Vocaloid Services? The people who got called when a Master no longer wished to keep his Vocaloids anymore? Whether from overuse, or neglect, those people were usually only called when a unit was going to be deactivated or re-housed with a new human Master. Vocaloids were human enough to have very limited rights, but nowhere near the full rights actual humans had. If Vocaloid Services had been called, the best that might happen is that their family would be broken apart and adopted by assorted new Masters.

Miku was going to lose her brother and sister Vocaloids, just as surely as she'd lost her beloved Master. It was all going away. Everything she'd worked for, the smiles of her family... in just a few moments, she was going to lose everything she'd ever needed.

"Make sure you pack your recharging cords," The human continued to speak unmercifully, as if resenting having to give the reminder. "We don't carry spares for Vocaloids down at the station, and I don't know whether Vocaloid Services will have enough for all of you. You won't be allowed to return to an active crime scene, even if they don't. I'll have an officer go with you, so don't touch or move anything else."

Nodding was the best Miku could do, but she couldn't get her body to move, couldn't unwrap her arms from around Luka's sobbing body. She knew she had to, knew it, but couldn't. She was frozen in place.

"We'll get them, Miku," Meiko said quietly in a shaken voice. "Stay there until we get back, okay?"

There was a quiet keen coming from somewhere close by, and Miku nodded through it. It was a distressing sound, and even though she was trying so hard to comfort her pink-haired sister Vocaloid, Miku wished Luka would stop that sound. It was like someone was slowly dying; quietly, but dying in agony. A soft sound of fabric moving was near Miku's ear a moment later, and a small, childlike hand touched the top of the teal-haired diva's head with trembling, warm fingers, and stroked her hair.

"It's okay, Miku. It'll be okay," a scared and brave, high pitched voice offered, and Miku opened her eyes, looked up at Rin, and realized that there was water in the way of her vision. Miku blinked, trying to clear her vision, as the blonde girl wrapped both Miku and Luka up with her small, thin arms. As if she was the strong one, the older one. As if Miku could believe in her. "It'll be... okay, somehow."

Miku breathed in, realizing that her lungs and chest were burning, and let herself be held. Rested her head on Rin's narrow shoulder and ignored the tears that streamed down her own shocked face. The distressing sound quieted, finally, and in the back of Miku's dulled mind, she found herself thinking as she tried to calm down, tried to regain control of her own body:

"Oh. I'll have to apologize. That sound... it wasn't Luka, after all."


End file.
